Page 5

Verity

M y heart thudded in my ears as I awkwardly made my way back to the locker room, one of the equipment managers handing me my crutch. Being out there on the ice with them had been fun, though my leg and ass still ached from my fall.

When the song shifted to my favorite, I hadn’t expected to see Grif on the screen holding a sign. Very romantic.

“Did you know he was going to do that?” I asked Mercy and Rusty, cradling my teddy bear with my free hand.

I still wanted an explanation, but his gesture meant a lot, especially given he’d missed his date night with Dean to be there.

And pulled strings. The song and getting on the screens–all of this had been planned.

“Nope. I told him to grovel. They all should grovel. Well, I think AJ’s exempt since he showed up.” Mercy held the door to the locker room open, where everyone was making last-minute preparations.

“True. But Jonas and Dean brought me food and helped clean up,” I pointed out. And fucked me well.

Mercy scowled as she went to her stall to grab her red helmet. “After I yelled at Jonas. Fucking alphas.”

“Still make Grif grovel.” Rusty bent down to adjust her knee-high socks, which had nails on them.

“Absolutely. A public display is nice, but it doesn’t fix everything,” Liv added, fixing her makeup.

Ash adjusted his helmet. “He needs to work for it.”

“Are you wearing pants, Ash?” My eyebrows rose.

“If you want to see my ass, just ask.” Lifting his jersey, Ash turned and waggled his ass, which was covered in black bootie shorts instead of bike shorts or cut-proof tights.

I sat down and took off my skates, wiggling my toes. Mercy had yelled at Jonas? Then again, she didn’t have the same issues standing up for herself as I did.

“Team Mom, you did so good out there,” Kaiko told me as she fixed her fake freckles, her dark hair with pink streaks in their usual puffs.

I checked my phone and snorted as I saw Mama’s text and showed it to Mercy.

Mama

What did he do?

Mercy laughed. “It would serve him right if she smacked him with her cooking spoon.”

The image made me giggle.

“I’d pay money to see that,” Rusty guffawed as she tightened the strap on her helmet.

Me

We had a fight, but everything’s fine now.

Well, maybe? I wasn't sure. I hoped so. But I wasn't going to tell Mama all that.

“What happened anyway?” Mercy added as she fixed her makeup in the mirror.

“Not sure, other than I triggered something, and it was no one’s fault.” I put my shoes on and put the skates in my bag.

“Love Grif Graf, but he’s got abandonment issues from being away from everyone for so long. He’s got the shittiest agent ever.” Rusty grimaced as she fixed the laces on her skates.

Skate smash skates differed from both hockey skates and figure skates. The blades gave them speed as they raced around the rink, the capacity to handle curves at high speeds, and the agility to do the team dance-offs that the public enjoyed so much.

Ash thought for a moment. “Does this mean we need to call off the pranks we planned for while we’re gone?”

“You were going to prank them for me?” My hand went to my heart. Awww.

“We already did. No one messes with one of ours.” Rusty gave me a hug. “We should call off all but one. Just to keep them on their toes.”

“You’ll be okay? I’m going to go visit Grif,” I told Mercy during the first intermission. They were down after the first period, but not by much. “Can I put my bear with your things for safekeeping?” It even smelled like him.

“Sure. You can sit with Grif for the rest of the game.” Mercy took a long gulp from her water bottle.

“Where, on his lap?” Because that row was full of giggly teenagers and drunk ladies.

“I don’t think he’ll mind.” Mercy grinned. “Remember, there should be groveling.”

“Lots of groveling,” Rusty called as she grabbed a handful of hydrogels from the bowl on the snack table.

“Sure.” With a wave, I left the locker room, leaning heavily on my crutch, feeling my fall from earlier today. I didn’t need groveling. I needed answers.

But I wasn’t sure I’d get them yet.

“Hi.” I used my arena credentials to get into Grif’s section. Standing at the end of the row, I gave him a wave. The teenagers weren’t in their seats. I reached out my hand. “Come with me.”

I led him back into the underbelly of the stadium, flashing my credentials and waving at security. We went into the small room I often studied in while the team was in their pre-game meetings and locked the door. No one would bother us here. It served as a green room or VIP area when they had events or concerts and had a couch, some chairs, a small table in the corner, and a small bar area.

Slipping into his arms, I inhaled his rainy scent, which still held the same sweeter notes it had this morning. Like his cum had tasted last night.

“I’m so sorry. I… I don’t even remember what happened. You know I never meant to hurt you, right?” he murmured in my ear, red beard tickling me softly.

“I know. But I need to understand.” It was nice leaning into his arms. Today emotionally exhausted me.

“I know. While I can’t give you all the answers tonight, I want you to know how much I love you. You know, my family saw me give you my jersey last night and now want to meet. Especially Sissy,” he told me.

“I’d love to meet Sissy. Also, I’m pretty sure that Grace is planning our wedding. But her wedding was lovely. Do you want a wedding or some sort of fancy mating party?” I asked. Not everyone did anything. Sometimes, it was a house party or lunch at a restaurant.

Or nothing at all.

Despite everything today, I still wanted to mate and marry him. Probably in a beautiful garden, with a stunning gold designer dress, fun music, and lots of tasty food.

“Marry you? Absolutely. I promise I’ll explain everything when you get back.” He kissed me, and I wondered if we had time for other things.

“Okay. I did trigger something, didn’t I?” My breath caught in my chest.

He caught my face in his hands. “You did. But it’s not your fault, Kitten.”

“It still hurt me.” I squeezed my eyes shut, recalling the panic I’d felt. Not to mention being bruised from the fall.

“I’m so fucking sorry.” His voice shook. “I have baggage. We’ll work through it together. Promise.”

“Okay. Did everything go well with the doctor?” I added, shutting down other questions I wanted to ask.

He sighed. “I hope so. They did a shit-ton of tests.”

I squeezed his hand, not missing the hints of anguish in his voice. Was he faced with the prospect of going off blockers? Or maybe having health problems that long-term usage could cause?

“We’re not breaking up, are we? No third-act breakups, remember?” I bit my lower lip anxiously.

“Never. It’s just a minor setback. Everyone has them. We’ll talk it out when you get back. Would you like me to show you how much I love you? This is so much more comfortable than the room we were in last night. I didn’t even know it was here.” His lips met mine as he walked me back toward the couch. Every step backward made my core liquify.

“Please. When I found my plants destroyed, all I wanted was you. Even when Dean and Jonas took me home and made me the filling in a hot hockey sandwich, I wanted you.” We fell onto the couch, my crutch on the floor beside us.

“Fuck.” He bundled me to him, so we were on our sides, me between him and the back of the couch. His eyes met mine. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry my job made you a target.”

My legs wrapped around his, like entwining myself in his body could soothe the raw edges of my soul. “It… it comes with the territory. You date someone famous and it happens.”

“Please tell me they caught them?” His hands caressed the length of me, making it ache for him as if everything could be fixed by him burying his cock inside me.

“Sadly, no. No prints. They were wearing a hoodie and a mask. The footprints were on the smaller side, so it could be a woman, but who knows? Campus police want to brush it off as a harmless prank. Even though the destruction is hardly harmless .” My voice grew bitter.

The cost of fixing the damage would be high, and I hoped my university would cover some of it.

“That’s shitty. I hope they catch them. This won’t cause you problems with the university, right?” His strokes focused on my ass as his hard-on jutted into me.

“Dr. Winters assured me that everything is fine, and I can have the time I need. Which is a relief. Still, are all these setbacks trying to tell me something? Should I stop this research? There’s most likely a good reason why no one’s done this before.” Despair filled me.

“What? Kitten, no.” He touched his forehead to mine. “If you love your research, if you believe in it, then keep on with it. We don’t let the assholes win, remember?”

“I know.” That, too, went a long way in soothing my soul. “It’ll be a lot of work to set everything up again. I’m so tired.”

The idea of starting over daunted me. Also, part of me, once again, wished for a blizzard, trapping us here in New York so I could have some rest.

He stroked my hair in a hypnotic rhythm. “I know. You work so hard. Hey, you get to go to Bayside to see your little brother. And to Hawai’i. I’m sure you’ll do some fun things with the Maimers.”

“I do. But all I want is you.” I sighed, kissing him.

“You have me. How do you want me? Soft and slow? Hard and fast? Here on the couch? Against the wall? I’m all yours.” He kissed me again as heat ignited between us.

Intermission was about over. This couch probably had seen more ass than backstage at fashion week. I should say no .

I didn’t care. The need to unite with him overwhelmed me to the point where I could think of nothing but locking him deep inside me.

“Kiss me like you missed me.” I unzipped his pants as our lips crashed together. His tongue probed mine as he worked my pants and panties off.

“You’re so wet for me,” he gasped as his hand worked my wanting slit.

“I need you.” I palmed his hard cock, beading with pre-cum, and… sticky? Putting my hand to my mouth, I made a show of licking it.

Yes, it was sticky–and sweet like last night. Sweeter even. It reminded me a little of Dean’s slick, though it wasn’t quite the same consistency. I said nothing as he kicked off his pants.

Pinning my hands over my head on the oversized couch, he impaled me with one smooth, hard stroke, filling me to my very soul.

“How’s that, Kitten? Is that what you need?” His green eyes never left mine as he pulled almost all the way out and slammed back in. “Because you’re what I need. Always.”

Jolts of pleasure shot through me as his ruthless and unrelenting thrusts pounded my pussy. His eyes stayed on me as he told me how much he needed me. How much he loved me.

An orgasm shuddered through me, making me gasp. “I love you, too, Grif.”

One hand kept my arms over my head, as his free hand worked my clit, bringing me toward another rise of pleasure.

“I’m going to come, Kitten. I’m going to pour my cum into your sweet pussy the way I hope us fucking fills your heart with all my love.” He pulled out all the way this time and slammed in, giving two hard strokes.

His fingers flicked my clit, sending me into another orgasm as hot cum rushed into my pussy. Grif’s mouth fell on mine as he kissed me over, our bodies entangled as my cunt locked down on his cock, keeping him inside me.

He fell on top of me, hand letting my wrists go. We rolled back onto our sides as he held me tight. Yep, it was well into the second period.

But I didn’t mind because I had him. Finally.

In the arena parking garage, I leaned into Grif. The two of us stank of sweat and sex. Something the Maimers had teased me about unrelentingly as I slipped back onto the bench for the third period.

Between the bits he’d told me and his smell and taste, I was pretty sure my hypothesis was correct. I had some homework to do.

“Tiger, I’m going to miss you.” I cupped his face with my hand. Everything was loaded onto the bus that would take the Maimers to the airport.

Grif planted another kiss on my lips. “Be safe on your trip.”

“Thanks for my stuffie. It’ll be nice to have something to cuddle at night.” I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“Do you want to take Lucky?” he asked in earnest.

I laughed, still amazed that the imaginary cat I made up that day we met on the airplane was a thing. “Please don’t tell me he’s been here the whole time?”

“Noooo. He appeared during the third period.” Grif continued to hold me tight.

“It’s not that long, you ding-dongs.” Mercy joined us. “There are also these things called phones. Come on, Ver, we’re the last on the bus.”

“Coming,” I told her. Turning back to Grif, I hugged him tight. “I love you so much, Tiger.” Leaning up, I whispered in his ear. “I’ll always love you. No matter what. Even if you’re a gamma.”

Before he could answer me, I gave him one last kiss and went to the bus, not looking back. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to reply.

Why had I said that?

My heart thudded so hard in my chest that I was afraid it would thump right out of my body. At the same time, I wanted him to know I’d support him. I didn’t want to come back from my trip only to get broken up with because he got so in his head while I was gone that he thought it was for the best.

I got on the bus and sat next to Mercy.

“We’re moving in with them, aren’t we?” Mercy waved as Grif stood there in the parking garage. He waved back, looking forlorn.

I blew him a kiss. “Would that be so bad?”

“Probably. We could make it work. Maybe.” She shrugged. “Despite me being pissed about today, they’re not bad dudes. Jonas even texted me and told me he was sorry for being an asshole. I just don’t enjoy living under other people’s rules.”

Something I completely understood.

“Wait, Jonas was an asshole?” I frowned, not liking that.

“I don’t think he meant to be.” She shrugged again, scrolling on her phone as the bus pulled away.

“True. We haven’t gotten there yet. I have a feeling it might get a little hard to wait six months. But I won’t do anything without your input,” I reassured, because it was important for her to feel like she had a say in major changes in our household.

Grabbing my phone, I texted Grif.

Me

I love you.

“And I appreciate that.” She leaned her head on my shoulder.

“I’ll still have time for you if I take a mate or two. Promise that I won’t disappear.” I played with her light brown braids as the bus headed into the dark and busy streets to take us to the airport.

“I know. But I like it when you say it. Only two?” Her eyebrows rose in disbelief. “You’re not going to be like Grace, and catch them all as she puts it?”

Grif

Love you, too. We’ll talk when you get back.

Promise. Have fun and travel safe.

“Maybe.” My head ducked as a smile twitched on my lips. I could see myself ending up with all four of them. “Just maybe.”